2 days in Cebu
It was a short stopover in between Kuala Lumpur and El Nido to visit a friend. Of course we’ll make full use of our time there to explore the town a little, why not eh?
Here is a quick simple list of the spots we visited and the things we tried.
Places to visit
- Fort San Pedro - Entrance fee was 30pesos per pax. Guide provided for free and accept tips. Interesting to listen to the brief history of the town and how the fort came about.
- Magellan's Cross - the first cross brought to the Philippines by the Spaniards, marking the start of Christianity in the country.
- Minor Basilica of the Holy Child of Cebu - an extravagant church that holds frequent masses and exhibitions. Also holds exhibitions.
- National Museum of the Philippines, Cebu - TBH, visited for free entrance and air-conditioned building. Exhibitions include flora, fauna of the country, and historical artefacts. Step carefully as some parts of the floor can be slippery
- Heritage of Cebu Monument - sculpture representing the history of the city. May be approached by a few trinkets sellers.
- SM Seaside City Cebu - mall is facing the ocean and the new Cebu- Cordova expressway bridge. Has a rooftop park and playground. Not very crowded even on a weekend. Worth a quick trip there for the rooftop view.
From top left: Fort San Pedro, Magellan's Cross, Heritage of Cebu Monument, Cebu City Park opposite Fort San Pedro, SM Seaside City Rooftop view, SM Seaside City Rooftop playground
Food & Beverages
A list of things we tried, recommended by our friend. Noms!
- Lechon Kawali - deep fried pork belly
- Pusok - rice wrapped in coconut leaves (Similar to nasi himpit in Malaysia)
- Classic or spicy lechon - roasted suckling pig, at Rico's Lechon or Cebu's Original Lechon Belly
- Pork Sisig - minced grilled pig's mask (parts of the head)
- Chicken Joy set, Jollibee
- Halo-halo
- Adobo beans or chicken
Recommended restaurant for good steak - Acacia Steakhouse
Special shootout to Three Little Beans 3lb coffee, Cebu
From top left: Acacia Steakhouse, Three Little Beans menu, classic lechon, sisig and deep fried spinach leaf, Jollibee chicken joy pasta set, Paksiw Bangus (deep fried milkfish with sauce), lechon kawali (deep fried pork), boneless spicy lechon with pusok
Souvenirs
These are recommended by a local friend and we agree they're good choices too!
- Dried mangoes, normal or green
- Dried mango covered in chocolate
- Polvoron - Goldilocks brand. A type of shortbread. Ube flavour was good!
- Coconut oil products
- Assortment of jams
- A cute wind-up Jeepney toy
Many of these you can easily get from local supermarts or a souvenir store called Kultura.
From top left: Goldilocks Polvoron, Kultura, Jeepney windup toy, coconut hair oil, assortment of jams, chocolate coated mangoes, dried green mangoes
Where did we stay? Travelbee in Lapu-lapu city, about 5min drive from the airport, serves good local cuisines for breakfast.
Final tip: Grab car (similar to Uber) is available in Cebu and highly recommended, as their prices are fixed.
Traffic in Cebu can get quite busy and you may get stuck in a jam for a while.
If you ever do a long layover in Cebu, give any of the above a try!